I thought this picture of Trevor was hilarious–seems like he finds his feet very appetizing!  It made me think of all of the times that I have run my mouth, only to stick my foot in it.  Too many times I have opened my mouth before engaging my brain.  Words seem to spill out before wisdom can catch up.

Proverbs 18:21 tells us the power of life and death is held in the tongue.  Let’s make a decision to use our words carefully in 2009 and speak life and blessing to those around us.

Normally a room full of Hamans means one thing: DRAMA! This year our family Christmas gathering was quite different: low-maintenance and easy to enjoy. I fried my first turkey—a miracle in itself—and we read of the birth of our Savior as we rehearsed the blessings of 2008. After struggling for 6 hours trying to assemble an outdoor basketball goal, I’ve finally been able to re-live the glory days of my career at Louisiana College—I’m legendary in Pineville. In fact, the older I get, the better I was!

With the start of a new year, many people are looking forward to new opportunities. My heart has been filled with so much excitement and anticipation as I think about the possibilities of 2009. As you close this chapter in your life and start another, my prayer for you is simple: Live large! When you let others create your world for you, they will always create it too small. Don’t get boxed in by the expectations of what someone else thinks you should do. You serve an incredibly big God, and He wants you to experience the freedom of living life as large as His dreams for you. Determine not to settle for anything less.

Ephesians 3:20 says “Now glory be to God? By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.”

I love Christmas and the simple message that comes with it…all people matter to God; so much that He came to Earth to demonstrate His unfailing love. Our heart and passion at Healing Place Church is simple too…to be a healing place for a hurting world. This Christmas we were able share this with families, single moms, widows, the poor, individuals struggling through hardship, high school and college students, and many others in our community. All of this took place through many different environments over the past several weeks.

Just this past weekend, thousands of people were reached and served through outreaches at our Baton Rouge Dream Center, Donaldsonville Dream Center and St. Amant Campus. We gave away over two thousand Christmas gifts, served a lot of Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches, played games, and shared the simple Christmas message.

Last Wednesday night, our High School students gathered for a Twisted Christmas Party…”Iced Out”. The focus of the night was to celebrate the offering that the students donated to help aid the Christmas parties for our Children’s Cup Care Points. It is honor to see the next generation passionately give to the Kingdom, and share the gift of Christmas with those in need.

As you go through ordinary life, from time to time you stumble across extraordinary experiences.  It was almost midnight and Wal-Mart was crawling with people.  The holiday shopping madness was getting the best of me.  My assignment should have been easy: find a sketch pad and some charcoal pencils.  I was tired.  The day was long.  I just wanted to go home.  “What’s so important about a sketch pad?” I wondered.  I couldn’t rationalize going through all the trouble just for paper and pencils.  After struggling for 20 minutes to find it on my own, I broke down and asked for help.  I called my wife, who is like a GPS satellite knowing Wal-Mart’s every isle. 

“Look, I can’t find it.  Don’t we already have these things at home?”  I wanted to give up until I heard the story behind it all.  Rachel informed me, “Alexa, came home from school this week and was really troubled.  She told me how cruel some of the kids in her 5^th grade class are to one of the boys.  They say mean things to him, make fun of him, & treat him like he has some disease.  He sits by himself at lunch, he’s a loner on the playground, & Alexa had to fight back the tears because her heart just broke for him.  He comes from a broken family that doesn’t have much of anything.”

I was speechless as Rachel continued, “Alexa wanted to get him a Christmas gift but didn’t know where to start.  She asked the teacher for ideas and found out how much the boy loved to draw.  No one knew how creative he was because they were too busy making fun of him.  The sketch pad and pencils were Alexa’s idea—a small way to show him how valuable he was.”

With a renewed sense of purpose, I found the best sketch pad in the store with an entire set of charcoal pencils.  As I carried the art supplies to the counter, I wondered how many times that little boy must have crawled out of bed and dreaded the thought of another day at school—the ridicule, anxiety, fear, rejection.  Suddenly, the paper and pencils were now something holy—a tool that could possibly unlock the pain trapped inside a little boy’s heart.  I believed that tomorrow morning would be different for this kid.  He matters to God…so he matters to us.

We prayed over the supplies that morning believing in the power of a gift!

This weekend I was able to visit our newest extended campus, HPC El Paso with Campus Pastors, Buck and Esther Zengerle. This is such a beautiful place to do ministry…from the point in this picture, I could look straight and see Mexico, to the right and see New Mexico while standing in TX. It was pretty amazing being right at the border of another country.

I was so blessed to see all that God is doing in El Paso through HPC. Buck and Esther have a great team who are passionate about being a “healing place for a hurting world” in this area. They have even had the opportunity to do outreaches in Mexico to serve and reach out to hurting families across the border. I am so excited about the work that God will continue to grow in El Paso and the lives that will be touched and changed through it all!